One of the nation’s most acclaimed musicals is heading to Bath early this year to mark a landmark anniversary.

Blood Brothers will have a five-day run at the city’s Theatre Royal from January 16-20.

Featuring music and a story by Willy Russell, The Bill Kenwright-produced show will celebrate 30 years since its opening year.

When Mrs Johnstone (Lyn Paul), a mother of seven, sees her husband walk out on her she decides to take up a job as a housekeeper to make ends meet.

But her world is turned upside down again when she finds out she is pregnant with twins and, through her desperation, enters a pact with her employer.

The twins, named Mickey and Eddie (Sean Jones and Mark Hutchinson), are separated at birth but are eventually reunited thanks to a quirk of fate and their mother’s disturbing secret.

The scintillating musical score will also get audiences on their feet as it features hit songs such as A Bright New Day, Marilyn Monroe, Shoes Upon The Table and Tell Me It’s Not True.

Blood Brothers made it’s debut in Russell’s hometown of Liverpool before earning a short run at the West End in 1983.

The show was so instantly successful that it won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical by the Society of London Theatre before heading on a year-long national tour and a new longer West End stint in 1988.

Blood Brothers remained at the West End’s Phoenix Theatre for 24 years, staging more than 10,000 performances and becoming the third longest running musical production in West End history.

The show finally closed in 2012 but has gone on to be equally as popular around the world including Australia and Broadway – a run which earned it a numerous prestigious Tony awards.